Air and room cleaning device

ABSTRACT

Air and room cleaning device ( 1, 21 ) with a suction motor and a supply of water ( 8 ), with a rotating separator which is wetted by the water and through which the air flows and with a control unit ( 17 ) which brakes the suction motor ( 15, 23 ) in particular when the separator ( 11 ) is switched off.

[0001] The invention relates to an air and room cleaning device with asuction motor and a supply of water as well as with a rotating separatorwhich is wetted by the water and through which the air flows.

[0002] Devices of this kind have already been disclosed in practice;although they have proved to be very successful, they have a crucialdisadvantage.

[0003] When the suction motor starts operating and is switched off, airthat has either not been cleaned at all or has not been cleaned fullyeffectively is released, because the separator is not yet or no longerworking properly.

[0004] The purpose of the invention is to improve a device of the kindoutlined above in such a way that only cleaned air is released when thedevice is being switched on and off. In the solution to this problemproposed by the invention, a control unit is provided which brakes thesuction motor particularly when or before the separator is switched off.

[0005] The suction motor still has a substantial suction capacity whenit is slowing down in particular, whereas the separator only has anadequate effect at very high speeds.

[0006] When the separator is switched off, the effect of the suctionmotor is also deactivated to such an extent that it cannot blow out anymore uncleaned air.

[0007] It has proved to be very advantageous in this context if inaccordance with a further development of the invention the suction motoris provided with a brake that takes effect before or at least at thesame time that the separator is switched off.

[0008] This brake can take different forms.

[0009] In an advantageous further development of the invention, a motorindependent of the suction motor is provided on the separator.

[0010] The suction motor can then be braked already before the separatordrive is switched off, so that no suction capacity is available anylonger when the effect of the separator decreases.

[0011] When the device is switched on, the separator can be startedfirst before the suction motor is activated too.

[0012] It has proved to be very advantageous if in accordance withanother further development of the invention the control unit switchesthe suction motor on and off depending on the speed of the separatormotor.

[0013] It is, however, also possible that the control unit switches thesuction motor off before the separator motor and switches the suctionmotor on after the separator motor.

[0014] This chronological order is sufficient to make sure that nouncleaned air is blown through.

[0015] It is also very advantageous if in accordance with the inventionthe separator is pivoted above the supply of water.

[0016] In another advantageous further development of the invention, theseparator is located at an air passage opening that leads into a suctionroom in which a ventilation wheel of the suction motor is located.

[0017] It is also very advantageous if in accordance with the inventionthe separator and the ventilation wheel of the suction unit have a jointdrive and are provided with a braking unit.

[0018] In another advantageous further development of the invention, theseparator and the ventilation wheel of the suction motor are located ona joint shaft that is engaged by a brake.

[0019] Another further development of the invention is also veryadvantageous, in accordance with which the brake is configured as anelectric brake, such as an eddy current brake.

[0020] It is, however, also possible in accordance with the inventionthat the brake is configured as a mechanical brake.

[0021] In accordance with another further development of the invention,it has proved to be very advantageous if at least one guide unit isprovided in the area of the supply of water.

[0022] This guide unit is designed to direct and guide the path of thecontaminated air that flows into the cleaning device.

[0023] It has proved to be very advantageous in this context if at leastone deflection plate is provided as the guide unit.

[0024] It is also very advantageous if the guide unit is providedessentially parallel to the base surface.

[0025] In another very advantageous further development of theinvention, the guide unit is located in such a way that the supply ofwater is divided up into at least two chambers.

[0026] It has proved to be very advantageous in addition if the guideunit is designed to be removable.

[0027] The purpose of all these guide units is to allow the air to spendlonger in the supply of water, as a result of which cleaning of the airis improved even more.

[0028] Three embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawings.

[0029]FIG. 1 is a diagram of a device for air and room cleaning with twoseparate motors,

[0030]FIG. 2 is another diagram of a device with a joint drive motor forthe suction unit and the separator and

[0031]FIG. 3 is a further diagram of a device for air and room cleaningwith a guide unit designed in the form of a deflection plate.

[0032]1 in FIG. 1 is a device that has a housing 2. Two horizontalpartition walls 3 and 4 are provided in this housing 2 and divide thehousing up into three compartments 5, 6 and 7. A supply of water 8, intowhich an air inlet facility 9 projects, is provided in the bottomcompartment 5. This air inlet facility is fitted in the outside wall ofthe housing 2 above the supply of water 8, so that water cannot escapethrough the facility. An air passage opening 10, in front of which aseparator 11 is located that is connected to a drive motor 13 via adrive shaft 12, is provided in the partition wall 3. The air passageopening 10 leads to the second compartment 6, which is limited by thepartition walls 3 and 4. A ventilation wheel 14 of a suction motor 15 islocated in this compartment 6, which sucks the air through the air inletfacility 9 and blows it out through an outlet opening 16 in the outsidewall of the housing 2.

[0033] The flow of air takes drops of water to which the dust particlescontained in the air bond with it as it goes through the supply ofwater. When they meet the separator 11, which is rotating at high speed(about 25 000 rpm), the drops of water with the dust bonded to them isspun off; any water that is not spun off drains downwards, with the duststicking at least to some extent to the separator.

[0034] The air that passes through the separator 11 is cleaned and istransported to the air outlet 16 by the ventilator wheel 14.

[0035] When the device 1 is switched on, the separator 11, 12, 13 isfirst of all started via a control unit 17 that is not explained in anygreater detail here; the suction motor 15 is not switched on too untilthe separator has reached its effective speed. This makes it impossiblefor uncleaned air to escape via the air outlet 16. The separator remainsswitched on as long as the ventilation wheel 14 of the suction motor 15is still transporting air out of the outlet when the device is switchedoff as well. The separator motor 13 is not switched off by the controlunit 17 until after this.

[0036] An air and room cleaning device 21 is again provided with ahousing 22 in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2. The two partitionwalls 3 and 4 separate three compartments 5, 6 and 7 from each otherhere too. A supply of water 8, into which the air inlet facility 9projects, is again provided in the bottom compartment 5. The separator11 located in the bottom compartment 5 above the supply of water 8 andthe ventilation wheel 14 located in the second compartment 6 areattached to a joint shaft 12, that is driven by a joint drive motor 23.

[0037] This drive motor 23 is designed in such a way that it reaches itsmaximum speed at which the separator 11 operates fully effectively veryquickly, so that no significant amount of uncleaned air escapes when thedevice 21 starts to run.

[0038] The drive motor 23 is equipped with a brake 24 that leads to avery fast stop when the device is switched off, so that no significantamount of air is transported any more in this case either.

[0039] Different configurations are possible for the brake 24. Anelectric brake such as an eddy current brake is one conceivablealternative. Electronic brake circuits can also be used. It is, however,possible to provide a mechanical brake as well.

[0040] The separator 11 and the ventilation wheel 14 can be connected toeach other by other means instead, for example via a belt drive, and canthen be driven by a single motor. The same measures outlined inconnection with the joint drive shaft are then necessary in thiscontext.

[0041] A horizontal deflection plate 31, which increases the length ofthe time the air sucked in through the air passage opening 10 spends inthe supply of water 8, can be provided in the area of the supply ofwater. It is, however, also conceivable that the path the air takesthrough the supply of water 8 is extended even more by providingappropriately shaped guide units. A channel can, for example, be formedthrough the supply of water 8. The deflection plate 31 is designed to beremovable. Easy cleanability is therefore guaranteed.

[0042] It is, however, also conceivable that the compartment 5, whichcontains the supply of water 8, is divided up into at least twosub-compartments above the supply of water 8 by a guide unit and thatthe air intake facility 9 is only configured to breach the outside wallof the housing 2. The air inlet facility projects into one of the twosub-compartments inside the device. Air has to flow through the supplyof water 8 to reach the other sub-compartment from this sub-compartment.

1. Air and room cleaning device (1, 21) with a suction motor and asupply of water (8) as well as with a rotating separator which is wettedby the water and through which the air flows, wherein a control unit(17) is provided which brakes the suction motor (15, 23) particularlywhen the separator (11) is switched off.
 2. Air and room cleaning deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the suction motor (23) is provided with abrake (24) that takes effect before or at least at the same time thatthe separator (11) is switched off.
 3. Air and room cleaning deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein a motor (13) independent of the suctionmotor (15) is provided on the separator (11).
 4. Air and room cleaningdevice according to claim 3, wherein the control unit (17) switches thesuction motor (15) on and off depending on the speed of the separatormotor (13).
 5. Air and room cleaning device according to claim 3,wherein the control unit (17) switches the suction motor (15) off beforethe separator motor and switches the suction motor (15) on after theseparator motor.
 6. Air and room cleaning device according to claim 1,wherein the separator (11) is pivoted above the supply of water (8). 7.Air and room cleaning device according to claim 6, wherein the separator(11) is located at an air passage opening (10) that leads into a suctionroom (6) in which a ventilation wheel (14) of the suction motor (15) islocated.
 8. Air and room cleaning device according to claim 1, whereinthe separator (11) and the ventilation wheel (14) of the suction unithave a joint drive.
 9. Air and room cleaning device according to claim8, wherein the separator (11) and the ventilation wheel (14) of thesuction motor are located on a joint shaft (12) that is engaged by abrake (24).
 10. Air and room cleaning device according to claim 9,wherein the brake (24) is configured as an electric brake, such as aneddy current brake.
 11. Air and room cleaning device according to claim9, wherein the brake (24) is configured as a mechanical brake.
 12. Airand room cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein at least oneguide unit is provided in the area of the supply of water (8).
 13. Airand room cleaning device according to claim 12, wherein at least onedeflection plate (31) is provided as the guide unit.
 14. Air and roomcleaning device according to claim 12, wherein the guide unit isprovided essentially parallel to the base surface.
 15. Air and roomcleaning device according to claim 12, wherein the guide unit is locatedin such a way that the supply of water (8) is divided up into at leasttwo chambers.
 16. Air and room cleaning device according to claim 12,wherein the guide unit is designed to be removable.